PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Week 1, Term 4 Newsletter

This Monday, it was fantastic to welcome our community back together for the beginning of Term Four. The summer uniforms were out, the sun was shining, and it was wonderful to see so many happy faces coming through the gates as we returned for another busy term.

The undoubted highlight of everyone’s return was our brand-new playground, standing proudly in the yard and ready to go! Installed over the school holidays, it was the perfect surprise for our students, who have certainly made the most of it throughout the week. In fact, our yard has been particularly difficult to empty each afternoon, with plenty of children keen to squeeze in one more play before heading home! We once again thank our incredible P&F and Fete Committee for the enormous amount of work that has gone into making this wonderful addition to our school possible. Our students and community are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated group of parents supporting our school. We look forward to officially opening the playground on Sunday, October 18, as part of our Trash and Treasure Market.

It is hard to believe we are already in Term Four, the year has certainly flown by. There is plenty still to look forward to, with our Middle School camps, Swimming Carnival, Prep transition, Walkathon, Trash and Treasure Market, Grandparents Day, Year Six Confirmation, Christmas Carols and, of course, farewelling our graduating Year Six students. One of the real highlights will also be our St Agnes’ Art Show in late November, which promises to be a wonderful celebration of the creativity and talents of our students. All key dates for the term can be found in the Dates section of this newsletter.

Next week, we are excited to welcome our 2027 Prep students and their families to St Agnes’ for the first of their three orientation sessions. Walking through our Prep classrooms this week, it has been wonderful to see just how far our current Preps have come. They have returned to school this term with such confidence, independence and enthusiasm, smashing their learning and classroom routines. It is a fantastic reminder of just how much growth can happen in a year and what a special place St Agnes’ is for children our children to learn. We look forward to providing that same wonderful environment for our newest students and families as they begin their own St Agnes’ journey.

Finally, as a school community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Megan, Oscar and Romy following the passing of Harry last week. It has been incredibly moving to see our community rally around the family with such care, generosity and compassion. We sincerely thank our parent community for the many ways they have offered their support and kindness during this incredibly difficult time.

Science of Learning Behaviour Curriculum

Throughout this year, we have been on an exciting journey at St Agnes’ to deepen our understanding of the Science of Learning and embed evidence-informed practices across our classrooms. An important part of this work has been ensuring that our students are not just benefiting from these approaches, but are beginning to understand how and why they help us learn.

As part of this ongoing journey, our students have been participating in explicit, age-appropriate lessons exploring concepts such as how the brain learns, the importance of attention, the benefits of calm entry routines, cognitive overload, the forgetting curve and opportunities to respond.

These concepts underpin many of the teaching practices we use every day. They are evidence-informed strategies designed to help students learn more effectively, retain knowledge for longer and become more successful learners. Until recently, however, the 'why' behind these approaches had largely remained with the teachers. Our goal is to empower students to understand how their brains learn best and why we ask them to engage in particular learning behaviours. We hope this knowledge will help students take greater ownership of their learning and become more reflective, independent learners.

One of my favourite examples of this learning in action came when I visited our Prep classrooms recently. The students were exploring the difference between a calm and an unsettled entry into the classroom, and how each can affect the way our bodies feel and our brains' readiness to learn. To bring this to life, the teachers had students experience two very different classroom entries. One was deliberately noisy, busy and unsettled, while the other was calm, quiet and organised. 

Following each experience, the students reflected on how their bodies felt, whether they were calm or distracted, and how ready they felt to begin learning. It was wonderful to see even our youngest students beginning to make connections between their environment, how they feel and their ability to focus and learn.

This is exactly what we hope to achieve through our Science of Learning: Student Edition curriculum. Rather than simply asking students to enter classrooms calmly, pay attention or practise retrieving information, we want them to understand why these behaviours matter and how they can help their brains learn.

It has been wonderful to see how our work throughout the year is continuing to develop, with students increasingly engaging in conversations about their own learning. We look forward to building on this work and sharing with our community how we plan to embed these understandings even further into everyday classroom practices. Watch this space!

MACS Finance Update

As families may have heard through the media over the past few months, schools across Melbourne Catholic education are currently working through changes to their 2027 budgets in response to the anticipated new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) for teachers and support staff. MACS has committed to wage parity with Victorian Government schools and, with staffing accounting for approximately 70–80% of school operating costs, these increases have required significant budget adjustments across the system.

Fortunately, St Agnes’ enters this period from a position of considerable strength. Our continued enrolment growth over recent years, together with another increase in student numbers expected in 2027, means we are well placed to manage the required changes. While some small adjustments will be made as part of our planning, we expect the impact on our school and the day-to-day learning and opportunities provided to our students to be minimal.

One change families can anticipate under the new EBA is an increase in school closure days. Schools are currently being advised to plan for an additional four closure days in 2027. We recognise that these mandated days will have an impact on families, particularly when it comes to managing work and care arrangements. With this in mind, we have worked carefully to schedule these days, wherever possible and practicable, alongside long weekends, public holidays and existing school breaks to minimise disruption.

We will share our proposed closure dates with families in the coming days to provide as much notice as possible and assist with planning for 2027. We thank families in advance for their understanding and support.

Beyond these changes, there is a great deal of exciting work happening behind the scenes as we prepare for next year, including our class and leadership structures for 2027. We are in great shape heading into the new year and look forward to sharing more about these plans with our community over the coming weeks.

Footy Colours Day

Footy Colours Day was a wonderful way to wrap up Term Three, with students proudly dressed in their favourite team’s colours and perfect weather for a day of fun. We kicked off with a whole-school parade to the sounds of club football anthems before our Year Six students took charge, running a range of football games and activities across the school. They did a fantastic job engaging and encouraging our younger students while also teaching them some key football skills. The day finished with the perfect footy lunch of pies and sausage rolls, generously organised by our P&F. A big thank you to Amanda, Bree, Sarah, Amy and Kascy for giving up their time to cook and serve such a great end-of-term lunch. A fantastic way to finish another busy and successful term at St Agnes’!

Year 5/6 Business Stalls

Last term, our Year 5/6 students concluded their Business unit by opening their stalls to our Middle School students. The stalls were the culmination of a term’s work, with students undertaking product research, collecting and analysing data, developing advertisements and preparing business proposals before bringing their ideas to life. Armed with ‘St Agnes’ money’, our Middle School students then had the opportunity to purchase the products created by our senior students and had a wonderful time in the process.

The unit has been a fantastic success and is a great example of the direction we want learning in our Senior School to continue to take. Through clear and explicit teaching, our teachers were able to scaffold students through an ambitious unit before giving them the opportunity to apply their learning with greater independence and creativity. Looking ahead to 2027, we want to build further on our strong explicit teaching practices by creating more authentic opportunities for students to apply their knowledge, solve real-world problems and engage with learning beyond the classroom. I’m excited to see this approach continue to develop and to share more of this learning with our community as we continue to grow in this area.

Connor’s Run

Last term, it was wonderful to see so many of our students, parents and staff come together to take part in Connor’s Run. On a beautiful spring morning, there was a fantastic St Agnes’ presence, with students from across the school joining their families and teachers for such a special community event. A big thank you to our staff who generously gave up their Sunday morning to join in and support our students. It was a terrific day and we look forward to seeing an even bigger St Agnes’ team take part in 2027!

Instrumental Music Assembly

Our final assembly of Term Three saw our school community treated to some wonderful performances from our instrumental music students. Led by Sabrenka, our instrumental music program runs each Thursday, with around 40 students across the school taking part in lessons in guitar, drums, piano, recorder and voice. It was fantastic to see Henry, Ada, Isla, Harriet and Celine confidently share their talents with the school and showcase the skills they have been developing throughout the year. 

The week prior, our choir, led by Mrs G, also took centre stage at assembly, beautifully performing three songs, with our Prep students even joining in for an impromptu dance during the final number! We are incredibly fortunate to be able to provide our students with such a range of opportunities to explore music and performance through both our instrumental music program and the work of our Performing Arts teacher, Mrs G. It has been wonderful to see the confidence and enthusiasm of our young performers continue to grow, and we look forward to building on these opportunities even further with our school production in 2027.

Michael Whiter: Tennis Coach

Last week, we were informed that Michael will not be continuing in his tennis coaching role at St Agnes’ due to health reasons. Michael has been part of St Agnes’ for more than 25 years, teaching generations of students and leaving a wonderful impression on the many children, families and staff he has worked with during that time. We wish Michael all the very best as he focuses on his health and the next chapter ahead. He remains in our thoughts and prayers and will always be a valued member of the St Agnes’ community.

Later this term, we look forward to recognising Michael and celebrating the enormous contribution he has made to St Agnes’ over such a long period of time. We will share further details in the coming weeks, including how members of our community who have worked closely with Michael may like to be involved.

We also thank Brad Crosher, who has stepped into the coaching role over the past term and ensured our tennis program has continued for our students.

Raise Our Voice

Last term, our Year Six students took part in the Raise Our Voice competition, a national initiative encouraging young people to speak up about issues they are passionate about.

Following Alice’s selection as the winner for the Goldstein electorate, we were thrilled to learn that Charlotte (left) was also selected as a Senate winner! Charlotte’s speech focused on improving housing sustainability within our community and will be presented in the Australian Senate by Senator Jane Hume. What a fantastic achievement and another wonderful example of our students using their voices to engage with important real-world issues. Congratulations, Charlotte!

Trash and Treasure Market

Our annual Trash and Treasure Market is just around the corner! Join us on Sunday 18th October for a fantastic morning of bargain hunting, food, coffee and community, with plenty of stalls to browse throughout the school.

This year’s market will also be extra special as we officially open our new St Agnes’ playground. The official opening will take place just after 9:00am, with local State MP Brad Rowswell joining us to mark the occasion. It will be a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community and celebrate a project made possible through the generosity, fundraising and hard work of so many within our community.

We need a few more volunteers for the BBQ and our own St Agnes' stalls next week. If you are able to assist, even for just a part of the morning, please get in touch with Amy Anderson on 0413697612.

If you are interested in booking a stall at the Trash and Treasure Market, please follow the QR code below. We would love to see plenty of St Agnes’ families come along, support the event and help us celebrate this fantastic new addition to our school. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed already. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 18th October!

STEM Club Competition

It has been fantastic to see STEM Club become such a popular addition to St Agnes’ this year. Our students have been developing their design and technology skills using Tinkercad to create their own 3D models before bringing their designs to life with our school’s 3D printer. This learning was further enhanced by Andy Lyons, who generously came in to work with our students, teaching them how to design, create and program using Tinkercad, with even some of our younger students getting involved.

Building on this enthusiasm, parent Andrew Pitsikalis has generously donated a range of prizes for our very own St Agnes’ 3D Printing Competition. Over the coming weeks, STEM Club students will design and refine their own original creations, with selected designs printed and our winners announced later in Term Four. It is wonderful to see our students using technology in such a creative and purposeful way while developing their problem-solving, design and digital skills. A huge thank you to Andrew and Andy for generously sharing their time, expertise and support with our students.

After-school Extracurricular Activities

It has been fantastic to see our after-school programs so well supported and enjoyed by the students who have taken part. This term we have a Monday Auskick program beginning in Week Three running on the grounds. 

We encourage as many families as possible to support these wonderful opportunities. Programs such as these provide students with valuable experiences, help develop new skills, encourage participation in physical activity in a supportive environment. The links to sign up to both programs are below:

Golf: https://events.humanitix.com/st-agnes-after-school-gameongolf-term-4-2026 

Soccer: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1636501  

Auskick: 

• Prep and Year One Group: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/e58895 
• Year Two and Above Group: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/374b20 

As mentioned, Brad Crosher has kept our before-school tennis program operating in Term Three. Please get in touch with Brad if you are interested in signing up for Term Four lessons. You can contact Brad via www.bgctennis.com or brad@bgctennis.com

Further information about all of these programs can be found in their respective pages in this newsletter.

Science Week

Next week will see Science take centre stage at St Agnes’ as we celebrate our own Science Week alongside the commencement of our whole-school Science units for Term Four. Throughout the week, students across all year levels will have the opportunity to explore, investigate and experiment through a range of engaging Science activities, while also hearing from guest speakers working across different scientific fields. It promises to be a fantastic week of curiosity, discovery and hands-on learning, and we look forward to sharing some of the exciting Science happening across our classrooms.

Thank you again for a fantastic first week back. It’s hard to believe there are only nine and a half weeks remaining in the 2026 school year, with plenty still to look forward to! I look forward to seeing everyone on the gate Monday morning as we begin another busy and exciting fortnight at St Agnes’.

Good luck to our Beachside Division athletes heading off today to represent the school, we know they'll do a wonderful job.

Tom